Economically Viable Atmospheric Water Generator

ABSTRACT

A system and method of generating water from air in a cost effective manner is provided. In some embodiments, the water generating apparatus uses a combination of rotating pre-loader wheels of solid desiccants, fans, mechanical systems such as Vapor Compression Cycle (VCC) or Peltier coils, filtration and mineral addition units to create a cost effective system for generating water from ambient air. In other embodiments, the water generating apparatus include smart controls for optimizing water production as per consumer requirements at times of the day when utility rates are low.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

The invention relates to a method and system (machine) that makes water at the location of water usage. This need is spurred by the fact that providing water to remote locations is often difficult. Further, with sea levels rising and land becoming scarce, setting up water transportation infrastructure such as roads for water carrying tankers or transportation pipelines is an added burden in terms of land usage. Transportation of water with tankers and other means uses fuel, which is not a sustainable method of development and growth. For example, soldiers going to war or hikers and campers traveling to remote locations need to carry essential commodities among which is bottles of water. This load can be reduced if they could carry their own water generation device.

Numerous techniques have been developed to obtain potable water. Among the mechanical techniques, the most common is to condense moisture in the air using a refrigerant based cooling coil and collecting the condensed water in a water tank. This technique is intrinsically inefficient due to the limitations of the refrigeration cycle. Details of this technique and examples can be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,755,037, 3,740,959, 4,433,552 and 6,588,225. Another technique removes water from air by compressing the air to such a high extent that water vapor condenses to form liquid water. However this technique is not economically feasible due to high costs and also, not preferable due to moving parts. Details of this technique can be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,453,684 and 6,230,503. The mechanical water generation systems listed above all suffer from reduced efficiency at lower relative humidity. When the relative humidity becomes low, i.e. in the sub 30% range, mechanical water generation systems become very energy inefficient and are not economically feasible. Ironically, low humidity conditions are where there is the greatest need for water generation both portable and otherwise.

To address the inherent inefficiencies of mechanical systems at low humidity, chemical-mechanical systems have been developed which combine chemical means of water extraction with mechanical water condensation. The chemical system in some of these devices is made up of liquid desiccants such as in U.S. Pat. No. 6,156,102. However, liquid desiccant systems have to be constantly refilled and the process of regaining water from water-desiccant mixture through distillation systems suffers from high energy requirements and inability to strip all of the liquid desiccant from recovered water hence leading to chemically contaminated and not pure water. Other desiccant systems have used solid desiccants such as silica gel and molecular sieves. These systems are intrinsically batch processes and hence can be used for limited time. Some prior inventions using solid desiccants can be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,344,778, 4,342,569, 4,313,312, 4,146,372 and 4,219,341. To address this issue of continuous functioning, systems which make use of alternate adsorption desorption beds such as has been mentioned in U.S. Pat. No. 4,304,577 have been designed. However, there has been no focus to optimize the water production quantity and efficiency.

Another design with solid desiccants is the rotating wheel system. This allows for continuous water production and has been commonly used in dehumidifiers. However, the desorbed water is left in the waste streams (impure water) and the water production rate is always lower than in packed bed systems. Implementation of rotating wheel systems can be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,099,623, 5,931,015, 5,526,651, 3,844,737, 5,709,736 and 5,170,633.

A cost effective system to generate pure water which can then be made potable is needed to address these problems. Further the ability to operate in low humidity environments is an added benefit.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention delineates the critical building blocks of a method and a machine that generates water from air. In addition, the invention highlights methods to optimize each of the building blocks. Further, one embodiment of an economically viable water generating machine in which each of the building blocks are implemented in the most energy efficient manner possible is presented. The invention also addresses the need for having a reasonable sized and easily scalable machine. Further, in the preferred embodiment, the machine is “smart” and can learn consumer usage patterns. This enables minimization of costs by producing water at times of reduced utility rates and favorable weather conditions.

The invention describes the method for making an air water generator through critical building blocks and few preferred embodiments of such an economically viable water producing machine. In the preferred embodiments for the invention, we describe ways to make each of the critical components shown in FIG. 1, energy efficient leading to an economically viable water generating machine. The governing idea is that mechanical condensation systems are great in extracting water from water rich air streams (high relative humidity). However, these mechanical systems shut down at low relative humidity. Hence, the method for making an economically viable atmospheric water generator provides mechanical condensation systems with water rich streams through chemical systems (pre-loaders) no matter what the weather conditions.

The pre-loader is a chemical system that is capable of exchanging water molecules with the environment that it is subjected to. Pre-loader comprises of a desiccant nano material which is dispersed in a surfactant solution to prevent agglomeration. The dispersed desiccant nano material is mixed with a binder and plant-based substance to create a matrix which is solidified to ensure monolayer of desiccant material with surface coverage of greater than 90% on solid matrix. The solid matrix which is generated in the form of a sheet is then modified to create structures to ensure optimal air flow through the honeycomb or flute conduits. When the pre-loader is in an un-loaded state (dry state) then it pulls water molecules from the surrounding air until it gets fully loaded (saturated) where it is said to be in a loaded state. To remove the water molecules from the pre-loader, it needs to be given some form of energy that helps break the bond that the chemical system formed with the water molecules. Typically, hot air is passed through the pre-loader to provide the energy to release water molecules which then get carried away with the blowing air. This process of removal of water molecules from the pre-loader is called unloading and at the end of the process, the loaded pre-loader goes back to a dry or unloaded state. The pre-loader can be configured in many different arrangements. In one preferred embodiment, the pre-loader is in a wheel form and is configured as a rotating system where different sections can be subjected to loading and un-loading cycles.

In one preferred embodiment of the machine, a stream of ambient air (AA) is pulled into the device using an unloading fan (20) and is passed through an air filter (10) before passing through a section of the condenser coil (30) which can be split condenser coil system of the vapor compression cycle (VCC) or hot plate of the Peltier coils. The ambient air that gets heated by passing through the hot split condenser coil system or hot plate of the Peltier coil is passed through one section of the rotating pre-loader wheel (40) extracting moisture from the already loaded (water rich) section of the rotating wheel. This stage is called the unloading stage of the pre-loader since water is unloaded from the wheel rendering this section dry as it rotates. The water rich stream of air having picked up lots of moisture from the loaded wheel, thus rendering it dry (unloading that section of wheel), is passed through evaporator coils (50) of the VCC or cold plate of the Peltier coils to condense the moisture out. Water is condensed out or is given up by the air stream since, it gets cooled when it comes in contact with the cold evaporator coils of VCC or cold plate of Peltier coils, which lowers the ability of the air to hold water and so the excess water is rejected. The condensed out water is collected in a pan called the water collection pan or drain pan (70). The water is finally, pumped from the drain pan, through a water filtration system (100) before being used for human consumption in one preferred embodiment of the machine. The exhaust cold dry stream of air is passed through a side of the heat exchanger in the embodiment of the machine before being released to the atmosphere. Another stream of ambient air is pulled into the machine using a loading fan (110) and is passed through an air filter (120) before passing through the other section of the heat exchanger (140) and getting cooled by the cold exhaust dry stream from the evaporator coils of VCC or cold plate of Peltier coils. This cooled and purified ambient air stream is passed through the other section of the rotating pre-loader wheel (40) which had been dried out in the unloading stage. Moisture is stripped from the air by the dry half section (unloaded section) of the rotating pre-loader wheel which results in loading up of the previously dry half section of the wheel with moisture hence called loading stage of the pre-loader wheel. The dry moisture stripped air form the loading section of the pre-loader wheel is passed through the other section of the split condenser coil system (60) to aid in cooling the split section of the condenser coil in the preferred embodiment. In another embodiment of the machine, this cold air stream can also cool the compressor (90) to reduce the head pressure on it keeping its performance efficiency high.

In a second preferred embodiment of the machine, a stream of ambient air (AA) is pulled into the device using an unloading fan (20) and is passed through an air filter (10) before passing through a section of the condenser coil system (30) which can be a split condenser coil system of the VCC or hot plate of the Peltier coils. The ambient air that gets heated by passing through the hot split condenser coil system or hot plate of the Peltier coil is passed through one section of the rotating pre-loader wheel (40) extracting moisture from the already loaded (water rich) section of the rotating wheel. This stage is called the unloading stage of the pre-loader since water is unloaded from the wheel rendering this section dry as it rotates. The water rich stream of air having picked up lots of moisture from the loaded wheel, thus rendering it dry (unloading said section of wheel) is passed through evaporator coils (50) of the VCC or cold plate of the Peltier coils to condense the moisture out. Water is condensed out or is given up by the air stream since, it gets cooled when it comes in contact with the cold evaporator coils of VCC or cold plate of Peltier coils, which lowers the ability of the air to hold water and so the excess water is rejected. The condensed out water is collected in a pan called the drain pan or the water collection pan (70). The water is finally, pumped from the drain pan, through a water filtration system (100) before being used for human consumption in one preferred embodiment of the machine. The exhaust cold dry stream of air is passed through the other section of the rotating pre-loader wheel which had been dried out in the unloading stage. Moisture is stripped from the exhaust cold air by the dry half section (unloaded section) of the rotating pre-loader wheel, which results in loading up of the previously dry half section of the wheel with moisture hence called loading stage of the pre-loader wheel. The dry moisture stripped air form the loading section of the pre-loader wheel (40) is passed through the other section of the split condenser coil system to aid in cooling the split section of the condenser coil before being discarded (exhausted) from the machine in this preferred embodiment. In another embodiment of the machine, this cold air stream can also cool the compressor (90) to reduce the head pressure on it keeping its performance efficiency high.

In a third preferred embodiment of the machine, a stream of ambient air (AA) is pulled into the device using a unloading fan (20) and is passed through an air filter (10) before passing through a section of a condenser coil (30) which can be a split condenser coil system of the VCC or hot plate of the Peltier coils. The ambient air (AA) that gets heated by passing through the hot split condenser coil system or hot plate of the Peltier coil is passed through one section of the rotating pre-loader wheel (40) extracting moisture from the already loaded (water rich) section of the rotating wheel. This stage is called the unloading stage of the pre-loader since water is unloaded from the wheel rendering this section dry as it rotates. The water rich stream of air having picked up lots of moisture from the loaded wheel (40), thus rendering it dry (unloading said section of wheel) is passed through evaporator coils (50) of the VCC or cold plate of the Peltier coils to condense the moisture out. Water is condensed out or is given up by the air stream since, it gets cooled when it comes in contact with the cold evaporator coils of VCC or cold plate of Peltier coils, which lowers the ability of air to hold water and so the excess water is rejected. In this preferred embodiment of the machine, there is an additional booster fan (150)′ downstream of the pre-loader wheel (40) that boosts the flow of air through the evaporator coils (50) of VCC or cold plate of Peltier coils and subsequently out of the machine. This booster fan lowers the static pressure load on the main fan. The condensed out water is collected in a pan called the drain pan or water collection pan (70). The water is finally, pumped from the drain pan, through a water filtration system (100) before being used for human consumption in one preferred embodiment of the machine. The exhaust cold dry stream of air is passed through the other section of the rotating pre-loader wheel which had been dried out in the unloading stage. Moisture is stripped from the exhaust cold air by the dry half section (unloaded section) of the rotating pre-loader wheel (40), which results in loading up of the previously dry half section of the wheel with moisture hence called loading stage of the pre-loader wheel. The dry moisture stripped air form the loading section of the pre-loader wheel (40) is passed through the other section of the split condenser coil system (60) to aid in cooling the split section of the condenser coil before being discarded (exhausted) from the machine in this preferred embodiment. The aforementioned sequence of events is the general use case of the machine under lower relative humidity conditions (<80%) in this embodiment. However, at higher relative humidity (>80%) the machine can run as a mechanical cooling system only. In this mode of the machine, the booster fan (150) pulls in outside air directly into the machine through a set of dampers (not shown) that open. These dampers are otherwise closed during the normal operation of the machine. The outside air that is pulled in is then passed over the evaporator coils (50) of VCC or cold plate of Peltier coils to condense the moisture out. Water is condensed out or is given up by the air stream since, it gets cooled when it comes in contact with the cold evaporator coils (50) of VCC or cold plate of Peltier coils, which lowers the ability of air to hold water and so the excess water is rejected. The condensed out water is collected in a pan called the drain pan or the water collection pan (70). The water is finally, pumped from the drain pan, through a water filtration system (100) before being used for human consumption in one preferred embodiment of the machine. In this mode of the machine, the air does not interact with the pre-loader wheel (40). Since the relative humidity of the ambient air is high enough, the performance efficiency of the machine is maintained, while avoiding the need to flow the air over the pre-loader wheel saving fan energy.

The invention as part of one preferred embodiment includes optimizing the solid desiccant based chemical separation system (pre-loader) made of silica gels that is arranged in a honeycomb structure (FIG. 3A) which uses physical forces (such as Van der Waals forces) to separate water out. The silica gel is packed in a unique design to maximize the surface area exposed to air. The dispersion of the silica gel and creation of the honeycomb matrix have been optimized through many different methods such as choice of the correct surfactants to avoid silica gel agglomeration as well as the design of honeycomb structure with the goal of the most efficient system for flow of air with least resistance in the preferred embodiment.

The invention as part of a second preferred embodiment includes optimizing the solid desiccant based chemical separation system made of silica gels that is arranged in a flute structure (FIG. 3B) which uses physical forces (such as Van der Waals forces) to separate water out. The silica gel is packed in a unique design to maximize the surface area exposed to air. The dispersion of the silica gel and creation of the flute matrix have been optimized through many different methods such as choice of the correct surfactants to avoid silica gel agglomeration as well as the design of flute structure with the goal of the most efficient system for flow of air with least resistance, in the preferred embodiment.

In one preferred embodiment, the VCC system is optimized with specialized condenser and evaporator coils. The coils are designed specifically to have enhanced surface area exposure through the application of engineered micro-nano films. These engineered micro-nano film surfaces utilize the appropriate surface structure (shape and size) and surface properties (surface energy, contact angle, hydrophobicity/hydrophilicity) to maximize the rate of heat transfer, water condensation and water transport. These engineered film surfaces can be utilized in both the condenser/evaporator coils of a VCC or cooling/heating sections of a Peltier coil based system in one preferred embodiment.

Traditional air water generators have used as many as five (5) layers of filtration in addition to UV light for destroying mold and bacteria and single mineral addition system. The invention, in one preferred embodiment, divides the filtration system into 3 critical components i.e., filtration unit, mineral addition unit and UV light. The filtration unit in one preferred embodiment is a 4-stage system comprising of pre-carbon, sediment, reverse osmosis (RO) and post-carbon filter. In another preferred embodiment the filtration unit is removed resulting in a system with only 2 critical components i.e., mineral addition unit and UV light. The invention also discusses in a third preferred embodiment, the use of a single unit for each of the above components in place of five (5) layers of filtration for energy efficiency.

The invention also aims to make the water generator smart to be able to deliver water based on the behavioral patterns of the household, weather data and electricity costs during the day in one preferred embodiment.

The features and advantages of the method and various embodiments of the present invention are described in the detailed description and drawings below, which is given by way of example only.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic highlighting the building blocks of the air water generator. In embodiments which include all the important building blocks (A, B, C and D), each has to be optimized to make a highly efficient water generation device. However, in the most basic embodiments building blocks A and B are the minimum required i.e., necessary building blocks to make an atmospheric water generator and can be optimized to create a very basic efficient embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of the chemical separation system and connections in three preferred embodiments to a mechanical system are shown. Many modified versions of this basic process have been envisioned and a single embodiment realized in a functional machine. The shown embodiment in the figure is a self-sustained system with solar panels+a battery system providing all the power requirements to run the machine.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a single pre-loader wheel of the chemical system in two preferred embodiments, one being a honey comb structure and the other a flute structure. In one embodiment, honey comb structure was utilized because for a given circular cross-section area a honey comb structure provides maximum packing density for the desiccant. In another embodiment, flute structure was utilized because of its ease of manufacturing as it is a structure that is well understood in making cardboards.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention will be understood more fully from the detailed description given below and from the accompanying drawings of the preferred embodiment of the invention, which, however, should not be taken to limit the invention to the specific embodiment but are for explanation and understanding only.

In the preferred embodiment as can be seen in FIGS. 2A, B and C, half of the rotating pre-loader wheel is in loading mode (adsorption) while the other half is in un-loading mode (desorption). The adsorption and desorption times are determined by the rotation speed of the wheel (rpm: revolutions per minute) and sectional cut off the wheel used for adsorption and desorption respectively (for instance if 25% segment of wheel is being used for desorption and 75% adsorption, the adsorption time will be 3× the desorption time). The preferred embodiment shows a 50-50% split between adsorption and desorption and is only used to explain the process in detail. All potential splits of the pre-loader wheel embodiment into loading and unloading sections is within the scope of this patent.

Ambient air is passed through the section of the pre-loader in the adsorption mode. The pre-loader may comprise of desiccant which may be packed in a honeycomb structure or flute structure as shown in FIG. 3 to ensure maximum surface contact with air. Further, the cross section of the pre-loader may be circular or square or rectangular or any other shape to optimize air flow for different situations. In a preferred embodiment, the cross section is circular. In the preferred embodiment, the desiccant is silica gel, but a variety of desiccants such as silica gels or molecular sieves (zeolites) may be used and are within the scope of the invention. The desiccant in the pre-loader can adsorb moisture up to 40-60% of its weight in one embodiment. The continuous rotation of the pre-loader wheel leads to half of the wheel being in adsorption mode and the other half in desorption mode at all times.

In the desorption mode, a heated stream of air is passed through the loaded/wet desiccant section of the pre-loader wheel to remove moisture from it. In one embodiment, the temperature is 40° C. but the temperature can be varied within the scope of the invention. Temperatures in the range from 35-70° C. or other ranges of temperature for different systems can be used to optimize water removal from the loaded or wet section for desorption. In one embodiment of the machine, two separate air streams are used for the loading and un-loading of the desiccant bed which makes it different from a thermal-swing process. In another embodiment of the machine, the same stream of air is used for loading and un-loading of the desiccant bed thereby following a thermal-swing process. As the desorption section of the pre-loader wheel goes through the unloading cycle it gets heated with hot air. Hence this section performs better during adsorption when a cold stream of air is presented to it. As air cools, its RH (relative humidity) increases, which enhances the rate of water adsorption for the pre-loader. Hence, in the preferred embodiment, ambient air is cooled through a heat exchanger by the cold dry exhaust stream of air post evaporator coils or cold section of the Peltier coil system to enhance the rate of adsorption during the adsorption cycle.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the absorption section of the pre-loader wheel is loaded by passing ambient air cooled through the heat exchanger through it. As the air flows through the adsorption section of the wheel, it starts to load by stripping moisture from the air. Once the air is passed through the entire length of the adsorption section of the wheel it is exhausted. The exhaust air is used to cool part of the split condenser before being released to the atmosphere. In another embodiment of the machine, this cold air stream can also be used to cool the compressor reducing its head pressure leading to higher performance efficiencies.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the fully loaded section of the rotating wheel gets unloaded by passing a hot stream of air through it. The air is heated by passing it through one section of the split condensers. Once the hot air has passed through the entire length of the bed it is rich in moisture. This moisture rich stream of air is processed through a mechanical cooling cycle where it is cooled below its dew point to extract all the moisture out of it to form water. The resulting air stream after the mechanical cooling cycle is cold and dry. The moisture enrichment of the air stream through the loaded (unloading) section of the rotating wheel makes the water extraction process in the evaporator very energy efficient. The loaded section gets unloaded through contact with the hot stream and rotates back to get loaded again.

The rotating wheel ensures continuous production of water through loading and unloading of the different sections of the wheel.

In one embodiment of the invention, a VCC based mechanical cooling system is used. In this approach the stream of air that will be passed through the unloading section of the pre-loader wheel is first passed through part of the split condenser coils of VCC where the refrigerant rejects heat to make it hot. In this preferred embodiment, this section of the split condenser system is coated with advanced engineered micro-nano films to enhance heat transfer to heat the air stream more effectively. The refrigerant shown in FIG. 2 is R410A, however, this is not the only refrigerant that can be used. Any other refrigerant that further optimizes the energy consumption of this cycle can also be used with this invention and forms a part of the scope of this disclosure.

The heat rejected from part of the split condenser helps in heating up the air stream used for desorption. Once this air stream has extracted moisture from the pre-loader wheel, it passes through the evaporator coils where it is cooled to below its dew point temperature. The resulting air stream is cold and dry. In this preferred embodiment, the evaporator coils are coated with engineered micro-nano films to enhance heat transfer to increase the efficiency of water condensation. The films surface structure (shape and size) and surface properties (surface energy, contact angle, hydrophobicity/hydrophilicity) enhance the rate of water condensation by increasing the sites for water droplet formation four fold. Further, the area of hydrophobic and hydrophilic region as well as layout can be continuously optimized to increase water droplet formation rate as well as water detachment rate from film surface. Films for surface area enhancement with and without surface characteristics are included in the scope of this patent.

In another embodiment of the invention, using the VCC based mechanical cooling system, the resulting exhaust cold air stream post the evaporator is passed through a heat exchanger to pre-cool the incoming moisture laden hot stream of air, which is coming through the un-loading section of the pre-loader wheel. This will reduce the cooling load on the compressor further improving the production efficiency.

In another embodiment of the invention, using the VCC based mechanical cooling system, the resulting exhaust cold air stream post the evaporator is passed through a heat exchanger to cool the incoming ambient air to enhance the loading dynamics in the loading section of the pre-loader wheel as shown in FIG. 2A. As stated above, the cooling effect on the ambient air increases its RH (relative humidity) which leads to enhanced rate of moisture loading.

In another embodiment of the invention, a Peltier coil based mechanical cooling system is used. Peltier coils are an array of thermocouples that are arranged so that when you pass current through them they create heated and cooled plates. Analogous to the VCC approach, the heated plate can help in heating up the air stream used for desorption. The cooled plate can cool the moisture laden hot stream of air. The plates of the Peltier coil system will also be coated with the engineered micro-nano films that will enhance the heat transfer properties of them. Even in this configuration the idea of using the resulting cold dry air stream to cool the incoming moisture laden hot air stream or ambient air for loading as described for the VCC based cooling system, can be implemented. Any combination of a mechanical cooling system can be used with the chemical separation process depending on the market needs which define the yield (total gallons of water produced per day) and efficiency (gallons of water/kWh of energy) needed for the machine to be economically viable.

The combined chemical-mechanical system is designed to use the most energy efficient compressors, fans, valves and pumps to ensure the most cost effective production of water.

One embodiment of the valves can include ball valves which have the lowest head loss and are the most energy efficient during operation.

Another embodiment can include butterfly valves which are cheaper and ensure the lowest construction cost for the air water generator.

Once the water has been produced, it may optionally be collected and pumped up through a filter bank, where it is filtered and then passed through a mineral deposition unit to add minerals to give the water taste. The water can then be stored in a storage tank, and optionally can be equipped with a UV light filter to eliminate chances of microorganism growth.

One embodiment of the filter bank can include using five filters: sediment filter, pre-carbon filter, ultrafine membrane, post carbon filters and mineral filters. Minerals that need to be added to water made from air to make it fit for human consumption. One embodiment of the minerals can include adding Calcium (Ca), Magnesium (Mg), Potassium (K), Sodium (Na), Copper (Cu), Zinc (Zn), Selenium (Se) and Manganese (Mn).

Another embodiment of the filter bank can be to include a nanoparticle filtration system [M. U. Sankar et al., PNAS, 2013, 110, 21, 8459-8464]. Nanoparticle filters do not have a reject water stream which means all the water that passes through them gets filtered in a single pass, resulting in lowering the pumping energy needed to flow the water through the filters.

A final embodiment of the filter bank can include state of the art capacitive deionization filters which are very energy efficient and have long shelf life. Deionization filters provide the same advantage as nanoparticle filters in terms of no reject water stream leading to lower pumping energy and greater availability of usable/drinking water.

The optional UV light filter to eliminate chances of microorganism growth can be made more energy efficient by utilizing an light emitting diode (LED) light based version. An LED based version has a long life thereby resulting in a much-reduced life cycle cost.

Another embodiment of the invention includes the use of smart controls to further optimize the operation of the machine in the most energy efficient manner. In a preferred embodiment, machine learning principles are employed to learn the water consumption patterns of the user which will help it decide at what times during the day production needs to happen.

Another embodiment of smart controls will include connecting the invention to the Internet to make it an Internet of things (IoT) device. The Internet will connect the machine to a local weather station that will help it determine when the weather conditions are favorable to produce water.

Another embodiment of smart controls will include programming the time of use pricing of the local electric utility company to determine the most economical times to produce water.

Various modifications and adaptations of the operations that are described here would be apparent to those skilled in the art based on the above disclosure. Many variations and modifications within the scope of the invention are therefore possible. The present invention is set forth by the following claims.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

-   A—Chemical Separation System -   B—Mechanical Condensation System -   C—Filtration System -   D—Smart Controls -   E—Exhaust -   AA—Ambient Air -   10—Air Filter -   20—Unloading Fan -   30—Condenser Coil (Top) -   40—Pre-loader Wheel -   50—Evaporator Coil -   60—Condenser Coil (Bottom) -   70—Water Collection Pan -   80-Expansion Valve -   90—Compressor -   100—Water Filter -   110—Loading Fan -   120—Air Filter -   130—Solar Panel+Battery System -   140—Air-to-Air Heat Exchanger 

1. A method for making a device for harvesting water out of air (atmospheric water generator) comprising: two necessary and four important blocks, the necessary ones being a chemical separation system and a mechanical condensation system and the important ones in addition to the necessary ones, including filtration system and smart controls.
 2. The method of claim 1 wherein the two necessary blocks are optimized to be most cost effective.
 3. The method in claim 1 wherein the four important blocks are optimized to be most cost effective.
 4. An atmospheric water generator comprising: a chemical separation (pre-loading) system, a mechanical condensation system.
 5. The machine of claim 4 wherein the chemical pre-loader and mechanical condensation system are connected through tubes and have a fan to ensure air flowing through the condenser coils (with or without advanced bio-mimicked micro-nano hierarchical structure based films) of the mechanical system heating up and unloading the loaded water rich section of the bed and eventually passing through evaporator coils with or without advanced bio-mimicked micro-nano hierarchical structure based films to condense water out which is harvested for further use.
 6. The machine of claim 4 wherein the chemical pre-loader is connected through tubes to a fan which draws ambient air in and passes it through a heat exchanger, thus cooling it by exchanging heat with the cold exhaust air stream post evaporator in claim 5, the cooled ambient air passing through and loading the unloaded section of the pre-loader in claim
 5. 7. An atmospheric water generator comprising: a chemical separation (pre-loading) system, a mechanical condensation system and a filtration system to make the harvested water potable.
 8. The machine of claim 7 wherein the connection of the chemical separation and mechanical condensation system is as in claims 5 and
 6. 9. The machine in claim 7 wherein an optimized (best quality and most cost effective) filtration system is attached to a collection tray below the mechanical condensation system onto which water drops once condensed from the mechanical condensation system such that water from said collection tray is passed through the said filtration system and purified to make pure water.
 10. A smart atmospheric water generator comprising: a chemical separation (pre-loading) system, a mechanical condensation system, a filtration system to make the harvested water potable and smart controls.
 11. The machine of claim 10 wherein the chemical separation system, mechanical condensation system and filtration system are as in claims 8 and
 9. 12. The machine of claim 10 wherein smart controls, boards and programming is used so that the water harvesting and filtration process is optimized based on weather conditions and/or usage patterns of consumers and/or electricity pricing (utility rates) at different times in the day. 